Smart Arts - Creative New Zealand

A MATTER OFCONFIDENCEIn the end, it all comes downto confidence, playwrightDianna Fuemana says.“Itreally helps if you know howto approach people, andcome across as open aboutwhat you have and how youneed their assistance topromote your work.”Dianna’s one-woman show,Mapaki, was first performedat BATS Theatre in 1999.Since then, its internationalperformances include Greece(Women’s InternationalPlaywrights Conference,2000), the United States(2001) and Hawaii (2002).In its Wellington andAuckland seasons, a keytarget audience for MapakiSmart arts | Toi huatau43Networking with Mäori and Pacific IslandaudiencesFor many Pacific families, Pacific Island churches often act as the centre for social andcultural activities and they can be useful networks to promote your show or event.However, shows with nudity and excessive swearing can be extremely offensive to thisaudience, especially if a family group is watching. If you decide that your show isunsuitable for Pacific Island family groups but still want to reach those Pacific Islandgroups to whom the show will appeal, you will probably reach that group effectivelythrough your general marketing.If you decide when you’re doing your marketing strategy that you want to reach a widerPacific Island audience, including families, you may need to think about adapting aspectsof the production.Remember that for both Mäori and Pacific communities, face-to-face contact is moreimportant than for other communities – particularly in the early stages of the workingrelationship.A network-based communication strategy works well because word spreads quickly inMäori and Pacific communities, especially if you’ve established a sound workingrelationship. Apart from the traditional networking methods, there is also an abundance offormal and informal e-mail networks among Mäori and Pacific communities. It’s amazinghow far the e-mail kumara vine extends.was Pacific Island women.Dianna and her theatrecompany, newwayintheatre,accessed this group andother Pacific Islandaudiences through PacificIsland organisations (e.g.Pacific Business Trust,Pacific student associationsat tertiary institutions),education, health and socialservices, churches andpersonal contacts.“For me, being involved inthe Niue community wasreally important when itcame to marketing becausethat’s the culture I broughtwith me on to the stage,”Dianna says.“Along with myfamily and friends, I neededto know the movers andshakers in Niue education,church, health and youth.Language is an importantpart of the Niue communityand so I got fluent Niuespeakers to do theadvertising on Pacific Islandradio stations and translatesome of the information inthe flyers to pass on toothers in the community.Word-of-mouth is a hugegoodie to promote PacificIsland shows. Make sure youinvite people with thebiggest mouths to theopening so they can spreadthe word quickly.”In terms of directmarketing, Dianna sentletters to Pacific Islandorganisations, which shefollowed up with a phonecall and then a media pack,including posters andpostcards. E-mail, postersand postcards were alsoused to reach her targetaudiences.“We also presented a littleblurb about the show tovarious groups at theirmonthly meetings,” she says.“This ensured that keypeople in that particularcommunity knew about theshow. It also put a face tothe names and the flyersthat we gave to thesepeople and asked them todistribute.”Communicating your message4